Landing safety device

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for agitating and rearranging a grouping of individual cushioning articles in an enclosed container are disclosed. The method and device may protect and individual from an injury resulting from landing in the enclosed container when the individual cushioning articles are overly compressed and lack appropriate spacing in order to absorb the kinetic energy of an individual landing in the enclosed container. The apparatus may include an air actuated inflatable bladder with inflatable extensions that may be utilized to lift and/or separate the cushioning articles, thus allowing the cushioning articles to be repositioned in a random, non-uniform, fashion. Such an arrangement may facilitate training for exercises wherein a skill cushion and/or semi-solid surface is used to practice landings. Training routines may utilize a skirt attachment or landing mat to simulate landing on ground.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/846,078, filed Sep. 4, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/350,063, deemed filed Feb. 9, 2013 and with a371(c) date of Apr. 4, 2014, which is the National Stage entry under 35U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/US2013/025462 filed Feb. 9,2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/597,261 filed Feb. 10, 2012, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Training for gymnastics, extreme sports, and other activities that causethe human body to fall for extended distances can be extremelydangerous. Every year thousands of children and adults suffer injuriesduring gymnastics and extreme sports training activities. Some of theseinjuries occur while practicing or learning skills using a foam-landingpit.

A foam-landing pit may be a collection of regularly and/or irregularlyshaped foam pieces that are contained within the confines of astructure. The foam pieces may act as cushioning articles forindividuals and objects that impact the pit. These structures may belocated in the ground, level with the sports apparatus, and/or above theground.

One of the most frequently occurring injuries associated with foamlanding pit is a direct result from the compaction of the foam piecesdue to repeated landings. For example, repeated landings may compressand pack the foam, lessening its ability to absorb impacts over asufficiently long time or distance so as to prevent injury. The packedfoam may reduce the amount of air space in-between the foam structure.The reduced air space may result in a more solid surface wheredeflection is minimized and the impact force of the landing ismaximized. Hence, a person landing on compacted foam may have a muchhigher probability of injury since a larger impact force is imparted onthe person during the landing when the foam is compacted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein are methods and devices for agitating a plurality ofcushioning articles, such as foam pieces included in a landing pit. Forexample, the device may include an inflatable bladder. The inflatablebladder, when deflated, may be positioned along at least one of a bottomof an enclosure or a side of the enclosure. The enclosure may be openalong at least one side. One or more inflatable extensions may beoperably coupled to the inflatable bladder. A blower connection may beoperably coupled to at least one of the inflatable bladder or the one ormore inflatable extensions. Upon applying air to inflate the inflatablebladder and the one or more inflatable extensions via the blowerconnection at least one of the inflatable bladder or the inflatableextensions may contact a plurality of cushioning articles resulting indecompression of the plurality of cushioning articles.

In an example, the inflatable bladder may be comprised of a plurality ofsections. For example, the plurality of sections may be operably coupledto each other via seams and/or internal baffles. When inflated, theinflatable bladder and the one or more inflatable extensions may occupyat least fifty percent of a volume of the enclosure, although otherproportions may be utilized. The inflatable extensions may be configuredto inflate after the inflatable bladder has been inflated. The devicemay also include an air release valve that deflates the inflatablebladder and one or more inflatable extensions when opened. In anexample, the plurality of cushioning articles may be a plurality of foampieces. Upon applying the air to inflate the inflatable bladder and theone or more inflatable extensions, at least one of the plurality ofcushioning articles may be lifted outside of the enclosure. To ensurethe foam articles near the edge of the enclosure are decompressed, theinflatable bladder may be vaulted along sides of the enclosure suchthat, when inflated, the inflatable bladder extends further from thebottom of the enclosure along the sides of the enclosure than theinflatable bladder extends along the center of the enclosure.

Methods for decompressing foam pieces contained within a landing pit aredisclosed. For example, an example method for decompressing the foampieces may include applying compressed air to inflate an inflatablebladder located at a bottom of the landing pit. The method may alsoinclude the inflatable bladder contacting a subset of a plurality offoam pieces contained within the landing pit. The contact may result inat least a portion of the plurality of foam pieces increasing inseparation from other foam pieces within the landing pit. As a result,at least the portion of the plurality of foam pieces may bedecompressed.

The one or more inflatable extensions may be shaped in a variety ofways. For example, they may be uniformly shaped or non-uniformly shaped.Example shapes for the inflatable extensions may include one or more atriangular prism, a pyramid, a cube, a rectangular prism, a cylinder, apolygonal prism, a cone, a semi-spheres, a hemi-sphere, and/or anotherthree dimensional shape. The method for decompressing the foam piecesmay include applying a release valve to deflate the inflatable bladderafter the inflatable bladder has been inflated. The inflatable bladdermay be shaped to fit a shape of the landing pit.

A device may be configured to decompress foam pieces that are containedwithin a landing pit. For example, the device may include an inflatablebladder. The inflatable bladder may be positioned along a bottom of thelanding pit when deflated. The device may include an air intake devicecoupled to the inflatable bladder. For example, upon applying compressedair to the air intake device the inflatable bladder may be inflated,resulting in the inflatable bladder occupying at least a portion of thelanding pit and displacing at least a subset of foam pieces locatedwithin the landing pit. Displacing at least the subset of foam pieceslocated within the landing pit may result in the decompressions of aplurality of foam pieces within the landing pit.

The device may also include one or more inflatable extensions that areoperably coupled to the inflatable bladder and that are also inflatedupon applying compressed air to the air intake device the inflatablebladder. The inflatable bladder may be divided into a plurality ofsections that are separated by internal baffles. The device may alsoinclude an air release valve configured to deflate the inflatablebladder when opened. In an example, the inflatable bladder may beconfigured to inflate in at least two stages. For example, an inflationrate of a first stage may be faster than an inflation rate of a secondstage. As such, although both the first stage and the second stage maybegin inflation at approximately the same time, the first stage maycomplete inflation prior to the second stage due to the varying rates ofinflation. The device may facilitate training for exercises wherein askill cushion and/or semi-solid surface is used to practice landings.Training routines may utilize a skirt attachment or landing mat tosimulate landing on ground. The skirt attachment may be placed over thedevice when partially or fully inflated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of disclosed embodiments is betterunderstood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For thepurposes of illustration, there is shown in the drawings exemplaryembodiments; however, the subject matter is not limited to the specificelements and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an example agitation device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an example agitation device.

FIG. 3 is a partial section view of an example internal baffle.

FIG. 4 is an example of an inflatable foam pit agitation device.

FIG. 5 illustrates example shapes of the inflatable extensions that maybe attached to the inflatable bladder.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example of an agitation device.

FIG. 7 illustrates various arrangements of the inflatable extensions forthe agitation device.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example agitation device where an exterior stagemay be inflated prior to a second, interior stage being inflated.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an agitation device that is inflated inmultiple stages.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example of an agitation device that isinflated in multiple stages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method and device for agitating a grouping of cushioning articleswithin a receptacle or container are disclosed. The device may includean air pumping device operable to inflate a bladder or other inflatablemember located within the container that is adjacent to the grouping ofcushioning devices. The inflatable member may comprise a plurality ofindividual inflatable arm members, which when inflated extend throughoutthe container in order to increase the spacing of the cushioningarticles.

Such systems may be designed to provide foam agitation is such a way soas to provide maximum random and irregular placement of the foam andintroduce more air-space in-between the cushioning articles (e.g., foampieces). The system may accomplish this task in a short period of timeas the athletes are generally limited by the amount of time they canspend training specific skills.

The methods described herein may be based on providing appropriate foampit agitators to decompress cushioning articles, which may vary in sizeand shape depending on the size and structure of the pit. An air feedtube may be located at the top or bottom of the pit, thereby allowing astream of air to be injected into the bladder at one or more variouspositions in order to agitate the foam.

The present disclosure generally relates generally to safety devices andto safety devices and methods for use in Gymnastics, Extreme Sports andother activities. However, the methods and devices described herein arenot limited to such example embodiments, and other uses may fall withinthe scope of this disclosure. For purposes of illustration, thisdisclosure may describe examples related to gymnastics and foam landingpits, however, one skilled in the art may appreciate how the methods anddevices described herein may be implemented in other fields of use.

An advantage of a more distributed and agitated foam landing pit may beits ability to absorb awkward and un-planned landings. This may beaccomplished by allowing the athlete or object to pass through severalfeet and/or many layers of randomly agitated foam pieces that absorb theimpact of the athlete. In this scenario, when the athlete falls into thepit, even head first, the uncompressed foam may bring him to a stoprelatively slowly. Such a landing produces an impact within thetolerable range of the human body. Landings into foam pits may, overrepeated use and time, cause the foam to compress as much as 50%, thusgreatly enhancing the opportunity for injury.

The most dangerous fall is where an athlete falls on his or her head.Such falls can cause serious spinal injury and may even be fatal. Fallson the shoulder side or the back are less dangerous but may causeserious soft tissue damage, bone fracture and/or joint dislocation.Uncontrollable foot landing is usually least dangerous with the mostprobable short-term injuries being those of the knee or ankle due totwisting of the foot and or the knee joints.

One method for foam pit agitation may be to have the individual manuallyagitate the foam in the pit by inserting a long stick (or the like) into the cushioning devices in order to pry them apart. For example, in anattempt to separate the pieces, an individual may use the sidewalls as alever in conjunction with the stick. Another example method may be tohave individuals enter the pit and manually agitate the pieces; however,manual agitation often produces inferior results because the pit maybecome more condensed from the individuals movements and presence withinthe pit.

In another example, all the pieces from the pit may be manually removed,and once removed, they may be replaced them into the same space. Thismay result in a much less condensed level of foam then when theagitation process began and achieve the desired level of randomlyagitated foam pieces. For example, the air-space in-between may providefor a safer landing experience, lessening the possibility of injury.However, removing all of the foam pieces/cushioning devices may beextremely time consuming and impracticable for many situations andcircumstances.

A method and device for agitating a grouping of cushioning articleswithin a receptacle or container are disclosed. The device may includean air pumping device operable to inflate a bladder or other inflatablemember located within the container that is adjacent to the grouping ofcushioning devices. The inflatable member may comprise a plurality ofindividual inflatable arm members, which when inflated extend throughoutthe container in order to increase the spacing of the cushioningarticles.

Such systems may be designed to provide foam agitation is such a way soas to provide maximum random and irregular placement of the foam andintroduce more air-space in-between the cushioning articles (e.g., foampieces). The system may accomplish this task in a short period of timeas the athletes are generally limited by the amount of time they canspend training specific skills.

Various sizes, types, and makes of cushioning articles may be utilizedin order to absorb impacts. For example, the cushioning articles may bepieces of foam within a foam pit. The cushioning article may be formedby any substance which traps pockets of gas within its structure. Thevolume of gas within an uncompressed cushioning article may be largerelative to volume of solid material separating the regions of gas. Inan example, the cushioning devices may be open-cell foams or reticulatedfoams (e.g., very porous, and gas may enter and exit the foam via thepores). Open-cell-structured foams may contain pores that are connectedto each other and form an interconnected network that is relativelysoft. Foam rubber is an example of open-cell foam. However, thecushioning devices are not limited to open-cell foams and may alsoinclude closed-cell foams (e.g., the gas may form discrete pockets andeach pocket may be completely surrounded by the solid material).

When used herein, the term foam may also refer to any material that isanalogous to a foam, such as quantum foam, polyurethane foam (e.g., foamrubber), extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam, Polystyrene, phenolic, and/ormany other manufactured foams. Typically, foams have relatively lowdensities as compared to other fully solid materials due to their porousnature. Foam may be compressed, thus removing or eliminating a portionor all of the spacing between the solid structures of the foam. Suchcompression may be used to absorb impact of kinetic bodies, such as aperson falling into a foam pit. Pieces of foam may be formed in variousshapes and sizes, and typically an assortment of sizes may be used in afoam pit. The sizes and/or shapes of the foam may be random and/oruncorrelated. Examples of a cushioning material that may be equivalentto foam are pillows or other cushioning devices made of fabric. Acushioning article may be any article capable of being compressed inorder to absorb kinetic energy of an object.

To create a safety device designed to absorb kinetic energy from a fastmoving (and/or falling) person or device, a plurality of cushioningarticles (e.g., foam pieces) may be placed in a pit or enclosure. Whenthe person or device contacts the foam pieces, they may be compressed.The compression may absorb or transfer kinetic energy from the person,thereby allowing the person to be quickly but safely decelerated.However, if the foam is continually depressed, pieces may become overlycompressed, thus preventing them from absorbing the kinetic energy overa sufficient time period so as to allow for a safe deceleration. In thiscase, the person may be decelerated to quickly, resulting in a largeimpact force that may cause injury to one or more body parts.

In order to decompress foam or other cushioning materials that havebecome overly compressed, a method and/or device may be utilized inorder to agitate the foam members in such a way that the foam is onceagain able to decelerate and individual or object in safe fashion. FIG.1 illustrates a top view of an example agitation device 100. As shown inFIG. 1, a foam pit (and/or some other container of cushioning articles)may include outer container 102 for holding the foam pieces. Thecontainer may be any shape, although it is shown as a square in FIG. 1.Outer container 102 may be built into the ground and/or be containedpartially or completely above ground. Agitation device 100 may be builtinto the foam pit itself and/or may be attached to an existing foam pit.For example, the agitation device 100 may include one or more tabs 104to secure agitation device 100 to the bottom or sides of the enclosure.Tabs 104 may be any mechanism that allows the bladder/agitation deviceto be fixed to the pit. For example, tabs 104 may be include buttons,Velcro, strings, glue, ties, and/or any other structure capable ofattaching the bladder/agitation device to the pit.

Agitation device 100 may include inflatable bladder 106. The inflatablebladder may be located at the bottom of the enclosure. Inflatablebladder 106 may be located within one or more sides of the enclosure.For example, inflatable bladder 106—when deflated—may extend along thesome or all of the bottom of the pit. Inflatable bladder 106 may extendto each of the walls of outer container 102. The edges of inflatablebladder 106 may be vaulted, for example to ensure proper decompressionof foam pieces along the enclosure wall and/or side of the pit. Tabs 104may be affixed to secure inflatable bladder 106 to the bottom and/orsides of the enclosure. When the inflatable bladder 106 is not inflated,inflatable bladder 106 may occupy a relatively small portion of thevolume of the enclosure. For example, when not inflated inflatablebladder 106 may lay upon the floor of the pit. When inflated, inflatablebladder 106 may occupy a relatively substantial portion of theenclosure. Inflatable bladder 106 may be configured to inflate acrossthe entire bottom of the enclosure. Inflatable bladder 106, wheninflated, may raise most or all of the foam pieces a specified distanceabove the bottom of the enclosure. As an example, when inflated,inflatable bladder 106 may extend to a height of 50% or more of theheight of the enclosure.

In order to achieve a desired amount of foam agitation, inflatablebladder 106 may be configured to inflate in order occupy desired portionof the volume of the enclosure. In an example, the amount of volumeoccupied by the bladder when inflated may be selected based on the typeof material or foam included in the pit, the current level ofcompression of the material or foam included in the pit, and/or thecurrent amount of volume occupied by the material or foam included inthe pit. For example, in order to achieve a desired level of agitation,when inflated inflatable bladder 106 may be configured to occupy atleast 50% of the volume of the pit (e.g., including or not including anyadditional arms that extend from the main body of the bladder). Byoccupying at least 50% of the volume of the container, the foam may beagitated in a sufficient manner so that they will reach a desired levelof decompression.

Inflatable bladder 106 may be filled with compressed air. Inflatablebladder 106 may be filled with any type of gas. Inflatable bladder 106may be filled with any type of material that allows it to be inflatedand deflated. For example, inflatable bladder 106 may be filled withcompressed air. The source of the compressed air may be an aircompressor. Agitation device 100 may include blower attachment 108.Blower attachment 108 may be a connector designed to connect the bladderto a source of air or gas. Blower attachment 108 may be located above,below, inside, and/or alongside inflatable bladder 106. There may bemore than one blower attachment 108 connecting to inflatable bladder106, although a single attachment is shown in the example illustrated inFIG. 1. When a gas source is operably coupled to agitation device 100via blower attachment 108, gas/air may be inserted into inflatablebladder 106. Inflatable bladder 106 may become inflated. The blowerunit/air source may provide a high volume of air that is adequate tolift and decompress (agitate) the cushioning articles contained in thepit (enclosure).

Inflatable bladder 106 may include one or more inflatable extensions110. Inflatable extensions 110 may vary in width, height, and/or girth.For example, the size and/or shape of inflatable extensions 110 maydepend on the size of the enclosure, the dimensions of the enclosure,the type of foam/cushioning articles, the size of the foam/cushioningarticles, and/or of the use of foam pit. In an example, the size and/orshape of the inflatable extensions 110 may depend on the size, shape,and/or number of foam pieces with the foam pit. For purposes ofillustration, FIG. 1 shows five inflatable extensions 110. In theexample shown in FIG. 1, inflatable bladder 106 may be located at thebottom of the enclosure and inflatable extensions 110 may extend upwardfrom the main portion of inflatable bladder 106. When inflated,inflatable extensions 110 may extend into the plurality of foam pieces.Inflatable extensions 110 may be configured to add increased spacingbetween the individual foam pieces. Inflatable extensions 110 may beconfigured to laterally separate two or more foam pieces.

Agitation device 100 may include one or more internal baffles 112.Internal baffles 112 may be configured to direct air flow withininflatable bladder 106. For example, internal baffles 112 may beconfigured to direct the flow of gas/air within inflatable bladder 106and/or inflatable extensions 110. The baffles may be configured in sucha way as to allow inflatable bladder 106 and inflatable extensions 110to be inflated quickly and/or uniformly. In an example, inflatablebladder 106 may be divided into sections (e.g., longitudinal sections)in order to facilitate inflation. Each section may be joined usingseams. Internal baffles 112 may be used to internally divide sections ofinflatable bladder 106.

Although inflatable bladder 106 is shown to be divided into threelongitudinal sections in FIG. 1, greater or few sections may be used.For example, the sections may be irregularly shaped and/or non-uniformin nature. This may be the case if the agitation device is used with anirregularly shaped landing pit. The several sections of the inflatablebladder may be separated by the internal baffles.

In an example, although not shown in FIG. 1, one or more inflatableextensions may extend from another inflatable extension. For example, afirst inflatable extension may extend from an inflatable bladder (e.g.,perpendicularly or nearly so), and a second inflatable extension mayextend from the first inflatable extension. For example, the secondinflatable extension may extend perpendicularly (or nearly so) from thefirst inflatable extension. In an example, one or more secondaryinflatable extensions may be configured to extend from a primaryinflatable extension (e.g., an inflatable extension that extends fromthe base inflatable bladder) at various angles from a given face of theprimary inflatable extensions. For example, a first secondary inflatableextension may extend at a first angle from a face of a primaryinflatable extension, and a second secondary inflatable extension may beconfigured to extend from the face of the primary inflatable extensionat a second angle. Similarly, the two or more primary inflatableextensions may extend from a face of the inflatable bladder at differentangles. Such regular and/or irregular inflatable extension angles mayfacilitate the agitation of the foam articles. As may be appreciated,additional “branches” or layers of inflatable extensions (e.g., tertiaryinflatable extensions, etc.) may be utilized. Internal baffles may beused to separate an inflatable extension from the inflatable bladder, aprimary inflatable extension from a secondary inflatable extension, etc.

FIG. 2 is an example sectional view of an example agitation device 200.As shown in FIG. 2, agitation device 200 may be located at the bottom ofthe foam pit enclosure 202. When deflated, inflatable bladder 206 andinflatable extensions 210 may occupy a relatively small portion of theenclosure. Inflatable bladder 206 may be connected to air deliverymechanism 204 (e.g., a tube, pipe and/or hose), for example via blowerattachment 208. A second blower attachment 208 may also connect airdelivery mechanism 204 to blower unit 210. Air delivery mechanism 204may be rigid or flexible duct work. Air delivery mechanism 204 and/orany blower attachment 208 may be operably coupled to air releasegate-valve 212. Air release-gate valve 212 may be configured to quicklyremove the air from inflatable bladder 106 and/or inflatable extensions110. In an example, air release gate-valve 212 may be connected directlyto inflatable bladder 206. Air delivery mechanism 204 may also beoperable connected to blower attachment 208 in order to receive air fromblower unit 210. Blower unit 210 may be a source of compressed air forinflating inflatable bladder 106 and/or inflatable extensions 110.Blower attachment 208 may be located above, below, inside and/oralongside of inflatable bladder 106 for air delivery.

When engaged, blower unit 210 may force compressed air into air deliverymechanism 204, which directs the air into inflatable bladder 106. As theair is forced into agitation device 200, inflatable bladder 106 and/orinflatable extensions 110 may increase in volume. As the volume of airwithin the inflatable bladder 106 and/or inflatable extensions 110 isincreased, the pieces of foam may be perturbed and separated. Forexample, the foam pieces may be forced towards the top of the enclosure.When inflatable bladder 106 and/or inflatable extensions 110 aredeflated, the foam may resettle within the enclosure. The foam may beuncompressed during this process. The volume of the portion of thecontainer occupied by the foam may be increased as compared to thevolume of the portion of the container occupied by the foam prior toinflating the bladder. Due to decompression of the foam caused by theagitation device, the volume of space within the enclosure that isoccupied by the foam may increase.

As shown in FIG. 2, when inflatable bladder 106 and/or inflatableextensions 110 are fully inflated, they may occupy a great deal morespace/volume as compared to they are deflated. For example, wheninflated, the main portion of inflatable bladder 106 may occupyapproximately half the nominal height of the enclosure. Inflatableextensions 110 may occupy approximately another half to one third of thenominal height of the enclosure. These dimensions are exemplary andother dimensions may also be used. For example, the inflatableextensions may be non-uniformly shaped, and a first inflatable extensionmay be a different size than a second inflatable extension. Theinflatable extensions may be different shapes from one another. Inanother example, each of the inflatable extensions may be uniformlysized and/or spaced.

FIG. 3 is an example of a partial sectional view of internal baffle 300.The internal baffles may be placed within the inflatable bladder and/orwithin the inflatable extensions in order to provide for uniform airdistribution. For example, the internal baffle may comprise a pluralityof holes for uniform air distribution. Internal baffles may also bedesigned such that the inflatable bladder and/or the inflatableextensions inflate in stages and/or in a specified order. The used toform the baffles may be uniformly shaped and/or spaced or benon-uniformly shaped and/or spaced. The holes may be configured touniformly space the air within the bladder and/or inflatable extensions.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example agitation device 400. As shown in FIG. 4,inflatable bladder 406 and inflatable extensions 410 may be filled withgas and/or air to create the shape shown. Although inflatable extensions410 shown in FIG. 4 have uniform dimensions and spacing, one or more ofthe inflatable extensions may vary in size and/or spacing from the otherinflatable extensions. The width, height, and/or girth of inflatableextensions 410 may be varied based on the size and/or shape of the foampit enclosure. Inflatable bladder 406 may be operably coupled to one ormore tabs or connectors 404 to secure inflatable bladder to the bottomor side of the enclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates several examples of shapes that may be used for theinflatable extensions. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, aninflatable extension may take the form of inflatable extension 502,which may form a triangular prism. In an example, an inflatableextension make take the form of inflatable extension 504, which may be apyramid. Although a pyramid with a triangular base is shown in FIG. 5, apyramid with another type of base (e.g., square, rectangle, pentagon,other polygons, etc.) may be used. In another example, inflatableextensions may take the form of inflatable extension 506, which may be acube or rectangular prism. In another example, inflatable extensions maytake the form of inflatable extension 508, which may be a cylinder.Other example shapes for the inflatable extensions may include othertypes of polygonal prisms, cones, semi-spheres, hemi-spheres, non- orirregularly shaped three dimensional objects, and/or combinations ofmultiple three dimensional shapes.

For example, a first rectangular prism (e.g., or some other threedimensional shape) may for the first leg of an inflatable extension. Asecond rectangular prism (e.g., or some other three dimensional shape),may extend from the end of the first rectangular prism, for example in adifferent direction than the first rectangular prism extended from theinflatable bladder. Such extensions off the inflatable extensions may bedesigned or chosen based on the shape of the inflatable pit. Forexample, for irregularly shaped pits, the extensions of the extensionsmay be designed to agitate foam pieces in sections of the pit that arefar from the inflatable bladder. Baffles may be inserted between thedifferent sections of the inflatable extensions to ensure uniform aircirculation and/or ensure that the second inflatable extension is filledafter the first section of the inflatable extension has alreadycompletely inflated or has inflated a majority of its possible volume(e.g., the sections of inflatable extensions may be inflated in stages).

In an example, the inflatable bladder (and/or portions thereof) and/orthe inflatable extensions (and/or portions thereof) may be designed tobe inflated in stages in order to achieve increased agitation of thefoam pieces. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates an example wherein bladdersection 602 and bladder section 604 may be inflated prior to inflationof bladder section 606. Thus, a first stage of the inflation may includethe inflation of bladder section 602 and bladder section 604 (e.g., theouter edges at inflated first). Once bladder section 602 and bladdersection 604 have been inflated, bladder section 606 may be inflated.Inflating the bladder sections in stages and/or inflating the inflatableextensions (e.g., inflatable extension 608, inflatable extension 610,inflatable extension 612, etc.) in stages may facilitate a moreoptimized and/or faster decompression of the foam pieces.

For example, the agitation device may be configured to first inflatebladder sections close to one or more edges of the pit (e.g., bladdersection 602, bladder section 604), followed by the extensions that areconnected to the bladder sections near the outside edge (e.g.,inflatable extension 608, inflatable extension 610). The sections toinflate first may be selected to be the sections closest to two oppositeedges of the agitations device. For larger pits, the first sections tobe inflated may be any section that is adjacent to a wall or edge of thepit. In a further stage, the interior sections of the bladder may beinflated (e.g., bladder section 606), followed by any inflatableextensions attached to these inner sections (e.g., inflatable extension612).

In another example, each of the sections of the inflatable bladder maybe inflated first (perhaps in a specified order), followed by theinflatable extensions (perhaps in a specified order). For example withreference to FIG. 6, in a first stage, bladder section 602 and bladdersection 604 may be inflated. In a second stage, bladder section 606 maybe inflated. In a third stage, inflatable extension 608 and inflatableextension 610 (e.g., the inflatable extensions corresponding to thebladder sections inflated in stage 1) may be inflated. In a fourthstage, inflatable extension 612 (e.g., the inflatable extensionscorresponding to the bladder sections inflated in stage 2) may beinflated.

In another example, certain sections of the inflatable bladder (such asone or more of the edge sections) may be inflated first (e.g., bladdersection 602 and bladder section 604) followed by the inflatable arms forthose bladder sections (e.g., inflatable extension 608 and inflatableextension 610). In an example, rather than inflating the bladder sectionbefore the inflatable extensions, the bladder section and theircorresponding inflatable extensions (e.g., bladder section 602, bladdersection 604, inflatable extension 608, and inflatable extension 610) maybe inflated together in a first stage.

Once the bladder sections and inflatable extensions of the first stagehave been inflated, the bladder section(s) and/or the inflatableextensions of the second stage (e.g., bladder section 606, inflatableextension 612) may be inflated. For example, the bladder section(s) andthe inflatable extensions of the second stage may be inflated together(e.g., substantially simultaneously) or they may be inflated insub-stages. For example, the bladder section may be inflated first,followed by the inflatable extension. In an example, the inflatableextensions may be inflated first, followed by the bladder sections(e.g., in some or all of the inflation stages).

FIG. 7 illustrates various example arrangements for the inflatablebladder and inflatable extension sections of agitation devices. Althoughthe bladder in each of the examples illustrated in FIG. 7 (e.g.,agitation device 702, agitation device 704, agitation device 706,agitation device 708) is shown as a single section, in some examplesthese bladders may also be divided into sections, for example forinflation in specified stages.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, agitation device 702 may includea single inflatable bladder section and two side inflatable wedges asinflatable extensions. The wedges may be positioned at opposite ends ofthe bladder. In an example, agitation device 704 may include aninflatable bladder section, two side inflatable wedges as inflatableextensions, and an inflatable finger section across a middle section ofthe bladder. In an example, agitation device 706 may include aninflatable bladder section, two side inflatable wedges as inflatableextensions, and a plurality of polygonal prism inflatable extensions inthe middle section of the bladder. In another example, agitation device708 may include an inflatable bladder section, two side inflatablewedges as inflatable extensions, and an inflatable finger section acrossa middle section of the bladder, for example in a rectangular prismshape.

The types of extensions or fingers that extend from the main bladdersection(s) may be selected based on the type of pit and/or the type offoam. For example, large wedge sections that extend from sections of thebladder near the edge of the pit may be designed to prevent some or allof the foam pieces from falling out of the pit as the agitation deviceis inflated. In an example, long, thinner extensions may be designed toseparate the foam once the bladder has partially inflated, thusdisplacing the foam from the bottom of the pit (e.g., there may be moreroom to separate individual foam pieces once some of the foam pieceshave been push outside or above the confines of the enclosure). This mayalso be a justification for inflating different sections of theagitation device in stages, as once some of the foam pieces have beenpushed outside the containment (e.g., above the pit), the later stagesmay have increased success in separating the foam pieces.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example agitation device where an exterior stage(e.g., near the edges of the enclosure) may be inflated prior to asecond, interior stage being inflated. In the example illustrated inFIG. 8, the bladder may be divided into multiple sections (e.g., bladdersection 802 and bladder section 804). Upon inflation, bladder section802, which may be located along the exterior of the inflatable bladderadjacent to the enclosure walls, may inflate in a first stage. In asecond stage, bladder section 804 may inflate. In an example, althoughbladder section 804 may inflate at the same time as bladder section 802,bladder section 804 may inflate at a slower rate than bladder section802. Such differences in the rate of inflation may result in bladdersection 802 inflating prior to bladder section 804. Bladder section 804may be located in the center of the inflatable bladder and/or may bedisplaced or away from the edges of the container. Bladder section 804,when inflated, may extend higher than bladder section 802 when inflated.In an example, Bladder section 804 may be one or more inflatableextensions from a main bladder section.

By inflating the center section after the side sections and/or byinflating the center section to a greater height than the sectionsadjacent to one or more sides of the enclosure, the act of inflating theagitation device may cause the relative position of one or morecushioning articles to be changed, thus facilitating decompression. Forexample, foam pieces located in the center of the enclosure may be movedtowards the perimeter of the enclosure. When the agitation device isthen deflated, one or more foam pieces that were previously near thesides of the enclosure may be repositioned closer to the center of theenclosure. The rotation of the relative positions of the foam pieceswithin the enclosure may facilitate decompression.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of a multi-stage agitation device(e.g., top view). In the example, illustrated in FIG. 9, Blower 902 maybe operably connected to First Stage 904. First Stage 904 may be aninflatable bladder and/or section of an inflatable bladder that linesand/or is adjacent to one or more edges of the enclosure. Upon applyingcompressed air via Blower 902, First Stage 904 may become inflated.First Stage 904 may be vaulted and/or may have flat sides. Second Stage906 may be inflated after First Stage 904. For example, Junction 908 maybe designed to allow little or no air to enter Second Stage 906 untilFirst Stage 904 has been inflated or nearly inflated. For example, oneor more valves may be include in Junction 908 to prevent the air fromentering Second Section 906 until First Section 904 has reached orexceed a given volume and/or pressure. In another example, Junction 908may be a baffle or opening that is designed to limit the amount of airthat passes to Second Stage 906, so although some air may enter SecondStage 906 while First Stage 904 is still inflating and/or not yet fullyinflated, the amount of leakage may be relatively small, resulting inFirst Stage 904 inflating at a faster rate than Second Stage 906. As theamount of air within First Stage 904 increases, the pressure of the airwithin First Stage 904 may increase, thus increasing the air flowthrough Junction 908 into Second Stage 906. Thus, as First Stage 904 isfurther inflated, the rate at which Second Stage 906 is inflated mayincrease.

Although a single Junction 908 is shown in FIG. 9, more than oneJunction 908 may be present. The one or more junctions may be located atvarious intersections between the stages, and the location of thejunctions may be selected to facilitate multi-stage inflation. Junction908 may be positioned at the intersection along the boundary betweenFirst Section 904 and Second Section 906 at a location that is at ornear the maximum distance away from the location where air enters FirstStage 904 from Blower 902. For example, if the enclosure base is asquare or rectangle Junction 908 may be positioned at the oppositeside/corner as the intake from Blower 902. Such positioning mayfacilitate the multi-stage operation by causing more air to fill FirstStage 904 prior to the inflation of Second Stage 906. Additionally,although two stages are illustrated in FIG. 9, more than two stages maybe utilized.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example where a first stage is located along thebottom of the pit or enclosure and a second stage is located along thetop of the first stage. In an example, First Stage 1002 may be designedto inflate a given height from the bottom of the pit of enclosure. Forexample, First Stage 1002 may have a base that is the same shape anddimensions as the enclosure. When inflated First Stage 1002 may extend agiven distance upward from the bottom of the enclosure. In effect, theinflation of First Stage 1002 may act to raise the height of the bottomof the pit. Thus, First Stage may be designed to effectively reduce thedepth of the foam pit. In an example, rather than being located directlyalong the solid bottom of the enclosure, First Stage 1002 may extendfrom a trampoline or foam surface, for example Surface 1006 asillustrated in FIG. 10. Such an arrangement may facilitate training forexercises wherein a skill cushion and/or semi-solid surface is used topractice landings. The device may be configured to inflate First Stage1002, but not Second Stage 1004 until a second valve is opened.

For example, certain training routines may utilized a skirt attachmentor landing mat 1008 to simulate landing on ground. Skirt Attachment orlanding mat 1008 may be place over and/or on top of loose foam pieces inorder to simulate a ground landing while still providing some cushioningto prevent injuries. By inflating First Section 1002 to raise the levelof the pit, an athlete practicing landings may be forced to attempt thelanding earlier, as he would reach the elevated landing earlier. Suchtraining may help condition athletes to perform the landing earlier inthe trick or routine, which may be desirable from a training point ofview. In addition to First Stage 1002, Second Stage 1004 may also beinflated, for example, after First Stage 1002 in order to furtheragitate cushioning articles and/or to further raise the “bottom” of thelanding pit.

The agitation device may include one or more of the followingcomponents: one or more tabs to secure the bladder to the bottom orsides of the enclosure; an inflatable bladder base, which may extendalong the bottom or side of the enclosure; inflatable extensions thatmay vary in width, height and girth depending on the size/shape of thepit and/or size/shape of the foam pieces; a device to provide a streamof air/gas (e.g., a blower unit); an air stream release gate-valve; aconnection between the blower unit and the inflatable device, forexample via an air delivery mechanism of rigid or flexible ductwork; oneor more internal baffles to maintain the shape of the device wheninflated and to facilitate uniform distribution of air; a main bladder,which may include inflatable extensions and internal baffles to beconstructed of vinyl coated polyester, canvas and/or the like. Loosestitching of the bladder seams may allow for air seepage preventing thebladder from bursting.

An example process for agitating cushion articles, such as foam pieces,with an enclosure may include applying an air source to an inflatablebladder located on the bottom and/or side of the enclosure. Applying theair source may cause the inflatable bladder and/or one or moreinflatable extensions to become inflated. The inflated bladder and/orextensions may display one ore cushioning devices within the pit. Thecushioning devices may be uncompressed during the process. The air maybe removed from the agitation device including the inflatable bladderand extensions. When the air is removed, the foam pieces may resettlewithin the enclosure. The foam pieces may be in a less compressed formthan at the beginning of the process. The foam pieces may occupy alarger volume within the pit than they occupied at the beginning of theprocess. The process may be repeated as desired.

Although when described with respect to FIG. 1-10, the agitation devicesdisclosed herein may take many designs or forms. For example, theinflatable bladder may be attached to the side of a container ratherthan (or in addition to) the bottom of the container. The extendableinflatable arms may extend horizontally through the container. There maybe secondary extendable arms which extend from the primary extendablearms attached to the main bladder portion. The extendable arms may bedesigned based on the size and shape of the container. The extendablearms may extend in multiple directions and/or a multiple angles from themain bladder portion. Baffles may be located within the extendable armsso as to provide a define shape upon inflation.

The techniques and features described herein may be implemented in anyorder or combination.

What is claimed:
 1. A device comprising: an inflatable bladder, theinflatable bladder being positioned at least along a bottom of anenclosure; a plurality of inflatable extensions that are operablycoupled to the inflatable bladder; an air intake device coupled to theinflatable bladder, wherein upon applying air to the air intake devicethe inflatable bladder and the plurality of inflatable extensions areconfigured to transition from a deflated state to an inflated state, andin the inflated state the inflatable bladder is configured to form abase section and the plurality of inflatable extensions are configuredto extend substantially perpendicularly from a top side of the basesection; and a removeable skirt attachment arranged within and/or abovethe enclosure, wherein the removeable skirt attachment is furtherarranged at least above the inflatable bladder and the plurality ofinflatable extensions while the inflatable bladder and the plurality ofinflatable extensions are in the inflated state, wherein the removeableskirt attachment is configured to provide a raised landing area that israised above the bottom of the enclosure and that is configured toabsorb landing impacts.
 2. The device as in claim 1, wherein theinflatable bladder is separated into a plurality of sections usinginternal baffles.
 3. The device as in claim 2, wherein each of thesections defined by the internal baffles are uniformly shaped.
 4. Thedevice as in claim 1, wherein the inflatable extensions are configuredto extend substantially the same distance vertically from the basesection of the inflatable bladder.
 5. The device as in claim 1, whereinthe plurality of inflatable extensions are configured in one or more ofthe following shapes: a triangular prism, a pyramid, a cube, arectangular prism, a cylinder, a polygonal prism, a cone, asemi-spheres, or a hemi-sphere.
 6. The device as in clam 1, furthercomprising an air release valve configured to deflate the inflatablebladder when opened in order to transition the inflatable bladder backto the deflated state.
 7. The device as in claim 1, wherein theinflatable bladder is configured to inflate in at least two stages, andan inflation rate of a first stage is faster than an inflation rate of asecond stage, and the first stage is inflated to a lower height from thebottom of the enclosure than the second stage.
 8. The device as in claim1, wherein the removable skirt attachment is further arranged above aplurality of foam pieces.
 9. The device as in claim 1, wherein theinflatable bladder is arranged above a trampoline or foam surface thatis positioned on the bottom of the enclosure.
 10. A method comprising:positioning an inflatable bladder, wherein a plurality of inflatableextensions are operably connected to the inflatable bladder; positioninga removeable skirt attachment at least above the inflatable bladder andthe plurality of inflatable extensions; and applying air to an airintake device coupled to the inflatable bladder, wherein upon applyingthe air to the air intake device the inflatable bladder and theplurality of inflatable extensions transition from an deflated state toan inflated state, and in the inflated state the inflatable bladderforms a base section and the plurality of inflatable extensions extendsubstantially perpendicularly from a top side of the base section,wherein the removeable skirt attachment is positioned such that a raisedlanding area is formed while the inflatable bladder and the plurality ofinflatable extensions are in the inflated state such that the raisedlanding area formed by the removeable skirt attachment absorbs landingimpacts.
 11. The method as in claim 10, wherein the inflatable bladderis separated into a plurality of sections using internal baffles. 12.The method as in claim 11, wherein each of the sections defined by theinternal baffles are uniformly shaped.
 13. The method as in claim 10,wherein the inflatable extensions extend substantially the same distancevertically from the base section of the inflatable bladder.
 14. Themethod as in claim 10, wherein the plurality of inflatable extensionsare configured in one or more of the following shapes: a triangularprism, a pyramid, a cube, a rectangular prism, a cylinder, a polygonalprism, a cone, a semi-spheres, or a hemi-sphere.
 15. The method as inclam 10, wherein the inflatable bladder and the plurality of inflatableextensions are positioned in a landing pit.
 16. The method as in claim10, wherein the inflatable bladder is configured to inflate in at leasttwo stages, and an inflation rate of a first stage is faster than aninflation rate of a second stage.
 17. A device comprising: an inflatablebladder; a plurality of inflatable extensions that are operably coupledto the inflatable bladder; a removeable skirt attachment arranged atleast above the inflatable bladder and the plurality of inflatableextensions; and an air intake device coupled to the inflatable bladder,wherein upon applying air to the air intake device the inflatablebladder and the plurality of inflatable extensions are configured totransition from an deflated state to an inflated state, and in theinflated state the inflatable bladder is configured to form a basesection with a top face substantially parallel to the ground and theplurality of inflatable extensions are configured to extendsubstantially perpendicularly from the top face of the base section,wherein the removeable skirt attachment is arranged at least above theinflatable bladder and the plurality of inflatable extensions while theinflatable bladder and the plurality of inflatable extensions are in theinflated state such that the removeable skirt attachment forms a raisedlanding area, the raised landing area being configured to absorb landingimpacts.
 18. The device as in claim 17, wherein the inflatable bladderis separated into a plurality of sections using internal baffles. 19.The device as in claim 17, wherein the removable skirt attachment isfurther arranged above a plurality of foam pieces.
 20. The device as inclaim 17, wherein the removable skirt attachment comprises a landingmat.